The present invention relates to a shelving apparatus, especially for a motor vehicle such as a van.
A shelving apparatus for a motor vehicle is known and includes one or more fixed or moveable shelves on which objects or goods of various kinds can be placed.
A comparatively large quantity of objects can be stored within a small spaced using shelves set at different heights. The same quantity of objects takes up much more space, if stored on a single planar surface.
Most goods-carrying vehicles generally have only one loading platform consisting of the floor of the vehicle. When the goods-carrying vehicles is filled with goods for transport, the goods must be piled on top of each other with consequent risk of damage, especially when subjected to bumping or shaking due to vehicle movements.
If some of the goods resting on the loading platform of the typical goods-carrying vehicle must be unloaded at an initial delivery point, those placed on top of them must be first removed. To avoid doing that, loading must be carefully planned and the last of those items to be unloaded must be loaded first. This requirement creates difficulties both in regard to arranging the goods in the best way in the vehicle and also in regard to the time required for loading and unloading as well as devising a loading plan.
EP-A-0 093 814 discloses a vehicle for transport of goods having a supplementary shelf for goods that can be assembled and disassembled. This supplementary shelf comprises a plurality of rectangular components mounted with their long sides placed against one another. The sections slide on rolling means inside lateral guides fixed to the sides of the space used for carrying goods. The guides can be mounted at various heights on uprights by supporting means. Since the supplementary shelf is composed of moveable components, the shelf need only be assembled when required, i.e. when the height and quantity of the goods require it or when an extra shelf is useful. If the height of the goods makes it necessary, or if there is a lesser quantity of goods, the supplementary shelf can be taken down.
The usefulness of the above-described supplementary shelf is, however, to some extent diminished by the necessity of having to put up or take down the rectangular components one by one during assembly and disassembly, and by the space such components occupy, when the shelf is not assembled for use.
Also fixing the shelf components of the supplementary shelf into the lateral guides requires extra work and, if jerky movements made by the vehicle moving on a rough surface shakes the components loose, the goods may be damaged, especially if they are fragile.
The above disadvantages obviously would become greater, if there were more than one supplementary shelf, since the resulting operational complexities might make the supplementary shelf arrangement impractical.
These factors place limits on the use of the supplementary shelf and difficulties might arise, if loading and unloading of the goods-carrying vehicle, must be done as quickly and simply as possible.